By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's basketball team has qualified for the Team Academic Excellence Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2022-23 season. The Bearcats received the honor for the eighth time in the last nine years.

This year, 311 college teams from all three NCAA divisions, both NAIA divisions and the NJCAA qualified for the award. Willamette, Whitman College, and Whitworth University were the only Northwest Conference teams to receive the honor for 2022-23.

To qualify for the Team Academic Excellence Award, a team needed to earn at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Each team's GPA included all players who were on the roster during the 2022-23 season.

Willamette's top four scorers this past season all achieved double-figure scoring averages. They were Jack Boydell (Sr., F, Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) with 18.7 points per game, Josiah Frank (So., G, Turlock, CA/John H. Pitman HS) with 12.9 points per game, Ryder Hsiung (So., G, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) with 12.5 points per game, and Jonathan Watts (Grad., W, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) with 10.9 points per game. Boydell ranked second in the NWC in scoring and set a school record with 87.6% free throw shooting.

Note:  Academic year listed for each player is for the 2022-23 season.